The Whip of Fear

                                                 Friday, September 11, 2026

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.  They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?  Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”  But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid.  Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.  The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”  Exodus 4:10-14

Christians and Jews both celebrate God’s deliverance; Christians immediately think of Calvary’s cross, while Jews default to Passover.  Both are pivotal moments in our history, and today’s reading (Exodus 4) is when God delivered the Israelites from the murderous intentions of Pharaoh at the Red Sea.  The Israelite people were over the top with fear; Pharaoh had 600 war chariots, and an army that had conquered the known world; that army was zeroing-in on the escaping slaves like a laser-guided missile. 

After 400 years in slavery and having just witnessed God decimating Egyptian culture with ten plagues of pestilence, the Nile turned into blood, and frogs(ugh!), frogs everywhere…well, you would think they’d at least have a passing thought that the Lord would save them this time too.  But, no…their first thought was…better to live as a slave than die in the dessert wasteland.  Fear robs a lot, but mostly your humanity and dignity.

Today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the attacks of hijacked commercial flights crashing on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon, and Flight 93, which was believed to target the U.S. Capitol Building.  Those who were adults back then remember the time following that horrific event was perhaps the most unified season in memory for American citizens.  There was something of Moses telling the people to “hush and see what the LORD does here” about this evil.  Most public events included singing “God Bless America”.   Democrats, Republicans, and Independents spoke to each other about a common enemy, rather than demonizing the other parties.

Fast forward to 2026; are we more united now than ever before, or back to bickering about whatever will grab first place on the next news cycle so we can hit up the public’s open wallets for campaign funds?  I think it is safe to say America does not differ significantly from the ancient Israelite tribes enjoying the blessing of God’s hand leading them out of slavery one day, and revolting at the first sight of the whip of fear the next.  We humans just cannot help ourselves; if there’s something to quarrel about, we will find it, examine it, nurse it, and add fuel to whatever sparks we can find about it, as “evidence” that somebody else is at fault for everything that ails us! 

You wonder if it will ever cease, this cycle of being blessed, followed by shooting ourselves in the foot!  It’s been roughly 35 centuries since Moses’ flock got nervous at the Red Sea.  Their history with the whip of fear is proof that faith is a narrow path compared to the wide road of “doing it my way”.  And without faith, how can we ever be called a “people of God”?

For You Today

What would it look like for disciples of Jesus Christ to stop the incessant worrying about who is in the White House, or which party has the majority in the Congress, and whatever Hollywood is doing…and just stand still a moment, and see the deliverance of God?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images: Gordon Johnson from Pixabay  Unless noted, Scripture from Christian Standard Bible^©